CHILD PARTICIPATION:
THE MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE
Authors:
Ms. Amy Bala (UNICEF consultant)
Maniam Sinnasamy (UNICEF consultant)
Ms. Amy Bala () and Mr. Maniam Sinnasamy () are from Malaysian Association of Social Workers.
Kuala Lumpur, 31 July 2006
Preface
This report was commissioned by UNICEF Country Office Malaysia as input to the Day of General Discussion in Geneva on 15 September 2006, on the theme “Speak, Participate and Decide- The Child’s Right to be Heard” organized by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The views expressed in this report are those of the Consultant, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the UNICEF.
INTRODUCTION
The Convention on the Rights of the Child affirms that every child has the right to participate in all matters concerning him or her. This invariably means that all children have the right to access information, express views, to be involved in decisions affecting them and form or join associations. Participation rights therefore, are the tools that enable and empower children to realise all other rights and contribute to their own survival, protection, development and participation.
This report is a summary of child participation projects promoted by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and UNICEF Malaysia for the period 2000-2005. It is based on discussions with key implementers of these projects and a review of various documents. The report begins with Malaysia’s commitment to children followed by the current situation of child participation. Brief comments on the main obstacles to children’s active participation and recommendations for the way forward are then offered.
MALAYSIA’S COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN
Malaysia was represented at the World Summit of Children at the United Nations in New York in 1990 and became a signatory to the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children. Malaysia then formulated The National Plan of Action for Child Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s to implement the Declaration. This plan themed Caring for the Children of Malaysia was endorsed by the Cabinet in 1994.
Malaysia reaffirmed its commitment to children through its participation at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children (UNGASS) in 2002 and the various Ministerial Conferences. Children were represented and actively participated in the Regional Children and Young Persons Forum. While Malaysia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), it has expressed reservations and among them articles 13 and 15. However, it does qualify that such freedom be accorded only to Malaysian children.
CURRENT SITUATION OF CHILD PARTICIPATION
At the international level, 12 children represented Malaysia at the UN Special Session on Children in 2002. Among the delegates, 5 were boys and 7 girls which included a child from the indigenous community in Sarawak and a deaf child. This major event was preceded by a Children’s Forum where Malaysia was represented by two children. One of them was nominated to be the rapporteur for the South East Asian Region and was part of the team that prepared the final report to the General Assembly. The two children were in the group that discussed ‘children and armed conflict’ and one presented the group’s report and fielded questions at the plenary. The children also played an instrumental role in contributing suggestions at the National Plan of Action workshop based on their own involvement in the Malaysian Plan. The children and Young Person’s Booth were primarily run by the Malaysian delegates which served as a main source of information on the latest updates on the forum and the special session.
Malaysian children also actively participated at the Regional Children and Young Person’s Forum where they deliberated on the document A World Fit for Children and promoted the Say YES for Children campaign. In 2003 at Seoul, Korea, Malaysian children were again invited to be ‘resource’ participants during the discussions on the development of the National Plan of Action. As a result of their involvement at these international meetings, they were able to contribute significantly to the National NGO Forum in 2002. They wanted action to be taken to incorporate community service projects into Moral Studies and Islamic Education, incorporate Sex Education into the curriculum at all levels, and the establishment of a National Children and Young Persons organisation. They were also consulted on the design of a local poster on Say YES for Children and were involved in the launching and promotion of the campaign.
At the National level, UNICEF Malaysia has been very actively funding, supporting and facilitating child participation programmes in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. The various projects undertaken during 2000-2005 are found in the Table 1 below which provides information on the activities and children’s involvement. This is followed by a summary of these activities.
TABLE 1
Name of Project / Year / Child ParticipationNational Plan of Action
o Consultative Forum to Review National Plan of Action 1
o Formulating Draft National Plan of Action (NPA2)
o NPA2 Draft edited by policy makers / 2000
2000
2001 / consulted & informed
not involved
consulted & informed
Interagency Collaborative Dissemination of the NPA for Children 2001 – 2020
o Strategic Planning Workshop 1
o Strategic Planning Workshop 2 / 2002
2003 / adult initiated, shared decisions with children
Convention on the Rights of the Child
o Public Education
o Advocacy Program
o Awareness and Participation / 2002
2003
2004 / consulted & informed with elements of child initiated activities
Capacity Building (Government Agency)
o Guidelines and Manual for the Management of Child Activity Centres run by the Child Protection Teams
o Empowering Child Protection Teams in the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse
o Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect / 2002
2003
2004
2005 / children not involved
children not involved
children not involved
children not involved
Capacity Building (Non-Government Organisation)
o Preparation of Guidelines for Management of Homes Managed by Child Related NGOs / 2003
2004 / adult initiated, shared decisions with children
National Survey on Child Abuse
o Prevalence of Sexual Abuse among Adolescent School-Going Malaysian Children / 2002
2003 / children not involved with planning but as respondents
Child Participation Workshops
o Workshops for Children
o Workshops for Child Facilitators / 2004
2005 / consulted & informed
child initiated, shared decisions with adults
The National Plan of Action
A Consultative Forum to review the first National Plan of Action was held in October 2000 in conjunction with the End of the Decade Review. One third of the participants at this forum were children between the ages of 13-17 years from different backgrounds and institutions such as government and private schools, approved and special schools for the deaf and the physically disabled. Two of the presenters at the forum were children. The key objectives of this meeting were: (1) to review Malaysia’s achievements of goals as outlined at the World Summit for Children in 1990, (2) to evaluate current policies, strategies and programmes for children as endorsed in the first National Plan of Action for Children, and (3) to obtain input for the second National Plan of Action for Children for the period 2001 – 2020 (NPA2).
The outcome of the End Decade Review was further deliberated and a draft NPA2 was formulated at a workshop in December 2000. This was attended by all Government agencies with responsibilities to implement programmes for children and non-government organizations (NGOs) that work with children or child related activities. However, children were not involved at this workshop. This draft NPA2 was distributed to policy makers in Government and their views were reflected in the revised document and in March 2001, children were invited to offer their comments. The views of these children were later incorporated into the final version.
Interagency Collaborative Dissemination of the NPA2 for Children (2002 – 2020)
A 4-day Interagency Strategic Planning Workshop was held in July 2002 which was attended by 45 participants from 19 government agencies and 8 non-government organizations. One child was invited to participate in this workshop who was one of the delegates from Malaysia at UNGASS. The main task of the participants was to prioritise activities and programmes identified in the draft NPA2 and to design print materials for distribution across the country.
The participants formed six groups, each representing the six core areas in the NPA2. At the end of the third day, the groups managed to mobilise available resources and produced draft versions of a total number of 16 posters, 7 pamphlets and a booklet. These print materials were pilot- tested among government officers, parents and children and their views were incorporated in the final editing of the materials. The printed materials were then distributed to all State and District Welfare Departments and 24 different government agencies and non-government organisations for dissemination. These materials were also distributed to workshop participants and at other training programmes. As a result of this, a great deal of interest in the well-being and development of children was generated amongst the various agencies and the community. This was evidenced by the popularity of these materials and the repeated requests for additional copies.
About a year later, in May 2003, another Interagency Consultation Workshop was organised for government agencies, child-related NGOs and children. This strategic planning workshop provided participants the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the print materials produced in 2002, to review the critical issues within the six core areas of focus in the NPA2 (2001-2020), and to plan a programme of action to be implemented for the year 2003-2004. Of the 48 participants, 16 were children, 12 represented different governmental agencies, 8 delegates from NGOs and 7 officers from the Department of Social Welfare. Permission was obtained from the organisations, parents and schools for the children to participate in the 4-day residential workshop.
Involvement of Children: The children were between 13-17 years of age comprising 11 girls and 5 boys from different ethnic background (Malay, Chinese, Indian and Indigenous) and religious beliefs (Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian). They were all school going both from private and public schools, including special schools. A number of children came from NGOs with different programme focus which included 4 disabled children. The criteria for selecting children included among others, the ability to communicate and contribute in discussions. Among the presenters at the workshop were children who spoke on what the CRC meant to them. As children were active participants in the different work groups, most groups nominated a child participant to make the group’s presentation at the plenary session. A written evaluation at the end of the workshop revealed that both child and adult participants were very positive about the workshop, especially in the involvement of children. The adults were encouraged by the level of participation of children and their skills in presentation and information technology. One outcome of this workshop was that the agencies represented were able to review their own programmes and to reflect on children’s opinions and increase child participation activities.
Promotion of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
Between 2002-2003, three activities in relation to the Promotion of the Convention on the Rights of the Child were implemented. The first was on Public Education (2002) which involved the design and production of a local publication on CRC to create awareness among children and young people. This was in the form of a pamphlet on children’s rights, produced with the assistance of a Consultant. The content, design and layout were provided by the Legal and Advocacy Division in the Department of Social Welfare. Children were consulted and were informed of the decisions made. This pamphlet soon became a popular and an effective tool to disseminate information on children’s rights as it was child friendly and easily understood by children. Hence, they were used extensively in children’s workshops to facilitate discussion and were distributed at events where children were the main target audience.
The second activity was an Advocacy Programme which centred on the design of a poster based on the CRC and took place in 2003. In contrast to the project described above, this was designed entirely by children. A group of 17 children between the ages of 13-17 years worked together to identify content and design for the poster. The outcome was a simple poster but one that children could use effectively as a tool in their advocacy programmes.
In 2004, an activity on Awareness and Participation in regard to the CRC was implemented. With an increased awareness of the participation rights of children, it became necessary to train and empower children to become facilitators. Hence, a series of Child Participation Training Programmes were conducted in five States including the eastern states of Sabah and Sarawak. A core group of children trained as facilitators then conducted workshops on current social issues confronting children, including violence against children. This group of child facilitators were all attending school and their ages range from 12-17 years. The selection of these children was made by the DSW working closely with schools and NGOs.
In December 2004, all children who participated in these programmes came together at a strategic planning workshop. The main objective of the workshop was to enable children to network, share ideas and experiences and to empower them to conduct child participation training on their own. Hence at this workshop, the children took on the roles of chairperson, moderator, presenter and also rapporteur. They were later rewarded with a city tour which was most enjoyable especially for those from the eastern states.
As a result of the training, all children experienced an increase in self-confidence and their ability in communication and interpersonal relationship. Eight of these child facilitators were selected to attend the Melaka International Youth Dialogue where they conducted a workshop on CRC and focused on the Participation Rights of Children. Among them one was invited to be a panel speaker who spoke on the role of children in the formulation of the NPA.
In the course of the above activities, officers from the relevant departments such as DSW and Education, participated alongside the children and were trained as facilitators to conduct, promote and monitor CRC activities. An additional workshop was organised specifically for senior government officers and heads of department. They were also given training in CRC and sensitised to giving priority to programmes that offered opportunities for child participation.